She carried an old UFO clutch, first worn at the Opening of Parliament in 2013, and she wore new Zara pumps ( found by Cecile!). The burgundy pumps are made of satin and they have a contrasting red heel. They are still available at €39.95 here.

Today, Princess Marie visited Vejen Gymnasium og HF in Vejen. She was there to co-teach a french lesson for two classes of students.

Before starting, Princess Marie told the students : ” The only way to learn French is to talk, talk and talk, always.”

Princess Marie , the teacher and the students worked on the pronounciation of French words with games and Princess Marie had two prizes for the winners , a Royal Copenhagen mug and a pen.

At the end of the lesson, Princess Marie told the reporters : ” I have never tried to teach French this way. I am very impressed by the students’s ambition to learn the French language. French is a difficult but important language”.

Vejen Gymnasium tells me that the reason of her visit is to help increase interest in foreign language education in Denmark in general and in French specifically. Lars Amdisen Bossen, the headmaster , said : ” When the Queen got married with Prince Henrik, the interest in France increased. […] In 2004, French was the largest subject in language teaching in upper secondary schools.”

Clearly, the visit made a lasting impact on the students. One of them told jv.dk: “She was simply so helpful. I did not understand everything she said but it helped when she formulated it differently” while another said : ” It’s the first time I have been taught by a Princess. She is really sweet and totally down to earth.”

Princess Marie first visited the Legeheltene activities. Legeheltene is a cooperation between the Hospital and the Borneslykke Fonden . The professionals are at the hospital three days a week and this cooperation aims to allow the patient to be more active physically during their stay.

Princess Marie, the children and their families then watched the Christmas concert.

H.C Andersen Children Hospital treats all types of diseases in children and teenagers from birth to 18. Princess Marie has been working closely with the hospital since 2015 but had already visited it in 2013.

Princess Marie wore a new Zara red blazer and a new Zara turtleneck pearl sweater. Her trousers could be from Zara and her new shoes could be from Sergio Rossi but I don’t have confirmation for those yet.

This was most likely the last event for Marie in 2017. Prince Joachim, Princess Marie, Prince Henrik and Princess Athena will spend Christmas abroad, probably in France.
In other news, a documentary about Prince Joachim will be broadcasted on TV2 on December 27th.

It appears that Selina Juul and Princess Marie are bringing their fight against food waste abroad ! Indeed, they gave interviews to foreign TV channels about food waste and WeFood. Princess Marie received both journalists at Amalienborg Palace.

Princess Marie gave an interview to Globo Reporter , a Brazilian TV Channel, about food waste and WeFood, a Danish store Marie officially launched in February 2016. She started promoting the WeFood campaign in 2015. It is an initiative from DanChurchAid, of which Princess Marie is Patron.

Journalist : What does it feel like to be a Princess in the 21st century ?

Marie : My husband and I hope to be seen as examples. Examples of a simple life that I take very seriously. I cook everything that’s in the fridge, all the time. I do not like throwing food in the trash. Even if the expiration date has passed, I always take a second look at the product before throwing it away.

The voice over explains that Princess Marie is leading an initiative in fighting food waste , with two stores in Copenhagen already established by DanChurchAid. In these stores, you can purchase products left over from other stores with a 25% discount. Profit reverts to various hunger projects around the world. All this was possible when the law in Denmark changed in 2014 allowing products that would usually go into the trash but were still good for consumption to be donated by supermarkets and restaurants and resold in these stores like WeFood.

One employee of WeFood said: “It’s hard to tell people that they can eat food after the expiration date. Obviously, you have to be careful. For example, we do not sell meat or fish out of date because it would be dangerous but there is no problem in selling chips whose expiration date has passed.” The employee also shows vegetables with weird shapes or that are considered “ugly” by consumers but that are good to eat. No one buys them in regular stores , thus wasting, but they are bought into stores like WeFood.

The voice over says that last year, WeFood sold 100 tons of food that would have gone into the trash. The work is done by 100 volunteers, the most famous being Princess Marie.

Marie says : ” A third of all the food produced goes into the trash. And when we think that 800 million people are hungry in the world while we throw food away, it’s simply unacceptable.

The journalist also interviewed a garbage man who said he loves what he does! They explained that each wooden cabine that serves as a particular dwelling building is destined for a different type of garbage. The degree of confidence in Danish society is high, to the extent that the garbage man has access to the dwellings of all the houses that are included in his job route.

Princess Marie also said : ” This is a country where we feel truly safe. We take our children to school by bike. It’s great!”.

Journalist : Today, the Denmark has become an example for the whole world [about food waste]

Marie: If there is one country where I could have imagined this to be possible, it’s here. Danes are really respectful, proper and generous. They have a huge respect for the environment. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the WeFood store…

Journalist : I did! You officially opened it

Marie: I did ! WeFood sells all the products that can’t be sell in supermarkets with a 30% to 50% discount, the ones with a broken packaging, the ones whose expiration date has passed and the ones that were in too much quantity , because there always is too much products [in supermarkets].

All profits go to the humanitarian association to help people suffering from famine and malnutrition , that is almost 800 million people.

If I am so involved in this cause, it is because I really care about this. And I don’t like throwing things in the trash [when we could still eat them or use them if it’s not food]. I really can’t do that and it’s part of my education. I had the chance to have parents who were good examples for me.

The change in behavior is the only way! It’s like turning off the lights [when we leave a room or don’t need them], we do not throw food in the trash. I hope never throwing food will become a reflex.

Selina: When I came to Denmark from Moscow, Russia 25 years ago, I was very shocked to see so much food here. People wasted food everywhere and I felt the need to create this movement and it exploded! So we aim to educate the consumers, we give them tool to help them stop wasting food and we also work with schools and children all over the country.Journalist: Selina, Denmark reduced its food wasting by 25%, which is amazing. But you think we could do even better. How ?Selina: Of course, 25% is an amazing job! And since the past ten years, our association has insisted on the change of habits of all levels of the food chain from the farms to the supermarkets and consumers. We were supported by the last three governments, we create a new chain of values where we collaborate with supermarkets,restaurants and consumers so that they won’t buy or serve products based on if they are “ugly” or not, the esthetic value is not taken into account. Of course, we can export our knowledge to other countries but you need to understand that Denmark is a really small country so this can not be implemented in the US, in China or in Russia but we are doing what we can to inspire them to avoid food wasting

Princess Marie is very involved in the fight against food waste. Last August, she was the Patron of the World Food Summit – Better Food for More People and she took over Samvirke’s instagram to talk about her own way of avoiding food waste in her home. You can read more about Stop Spild af Mad here.

She carried the same Bottega Veneta clutch as earlier in the day with her Jimmy Choo black glitter Romy pumps she debuted earlier this year. The brooch was a gift from Queen Margrethe for Princess Athena’s Christening in 2012 and the earrings are old.